Attorney Matthew R. Arnold answering the question: “What can you sue for in a personal injury case?”

A bad accident on the Charlotte Motor Speedway took place this weekend at the Coca-Cola 600 when a heavy nylon rope that was holding a Fox Sports overhead television camera fell from the grandstands and landed on the surface of the track.

The freak accident left 10 fans at the Speedway injured and three requiring hospitalization for those injuries. Officials say that two of the fans were taken to the Carolinas Medical Center in Concord and one was taken to the University Medical Center.

Fox Sports has said that it has not been able to identify the cause of the accident and says that until it does it will indefinitely suspend the use of the camera system. The camera consists of three ropes and two guide ropes that are used to move the camera back and forth. A spokesperson says the drive rope failed and then fell to the track. Thankfully, the other ropes were able to hold the camera in place, which spared fans from even more serious injuries.

The rope even caused problems for drivers when it fell on the track and wrapped around Kyle Busch’s car. Busch said he never saw the rope itself, but did hear a very loud thud next to his right front tire, thinking maybe the tire blew out. The rope caused his car to slow down until officials delayed the race to clean the track and tend to injured fans.

Sadly the incident was not the first such accident at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. In 2000, more than 100 fans were injured when an 80-foot section of the walkway fell 25 feet onto a highway below. The injured fans were crossing the bridge to a parking lot following the end of a race.

Miraculously, given the size of the heavy industrial rope, there were no fatalities in this accident. Those fans who were injured should consult with an experienced North Carolina personal injury attorney to find out what compensation they may be entitled to for the pain and medical expenses they will endure during their recovery process.